The Social Security Prior-Consultation System: Achievements and Improvement Strategies

Abstract

In this article, I analyze the prior-consultation system based on findings from in-person interviews with local officials responsible for its implementation, and discuss potential improvements to the system. My analysis indicates that the consultation system has, as intended, enhanced the efficiency of the social security system, contributing to some extent to local governments financially by curbing the indiscriminate expansion of cash welfare programs. However, achieving “social-service-led local welfare”—a key direction deliberated and agreed upon by the Social Security Committee in October 2023 —requires not only improvements to the prior-consultation system and its procedures but also a comprehensive overhaul of social security governance.